Getting Started
Below is some information to get a sense of the setting of Dark Falls and a general understanding of the Monster of the Week mechanics. Setting All the characters will begin in a fictional Oregon coastal town called Dark Falls. It typically seems like a quiet and quaint place surrounded by a deep forest of douglas-firs, with a smattering of red alders and hemlocks. It's two major industries are the Boyd Logging Company and the Proctor Fishing Company, however it is also well known for the prestigious Miskatonic University, West Campus (MU) established there. However, like any other place, it has its own myths and legends. They stem from the Native American Diroc tribe, which only has a few surviving families today, and from the tragedy that always arises from logging deep in the forest ("There were some weird lights out there just dancin' around.") or fishing in the vast, cold ocean ("I saw something big that went underneath the boat. Some THING!"). Style This is an improvisational game in which you and the Keeper create a story together. The Keeper initially designs the creature and the timeline of events that would have transpired if the characters had not intervened, but beyond that there really isn't very much planning. The story emerges from a conversation between the players, with the Keeper describing the initial situation and the rest of the players describing what their hunters do in response. This leads into an ongoing back-and-forth between the Keeper and hunters. The Keeper will ask you questions and describe how the inhabitants of the game’s world react, based on your answers. The Keeper will also present you with situations and crises to do with the monster you’re hunting and its potential victims. These require new decisions from you about what happens next: you’ll describe what your hunter does, and make moves when they’re called for. Each of your decisions and actions will lead to new situations. Mechanics Below is a general explanation of how the rules of MotW work. Moves Moves cover situations when the game rules step in to help you determine what happens. If your hunter wants to do something that any normal person can do, then it just happens. Moves are used to determine what happens in cases where your hunter tries to do: * Something normal people can’t do, such as casting a magic spell * Something dangerous, such as getting into a fight with a monster * Something that’s more exciting if we don’t just decide the outcome on our own. For example, seeing if your hunter’s lie to a monster-attack victim has any repercussions. Each move is triggered when a particular situation happens in the game. Look at when the move says it happens, and follow the instructions when you do it. For example, you need to use the move protect someone to save another hunter from a bone puppet’s attack. The move says when you protect someone from harm, roll +Cool, so you roll the dice and get a two and a five. That’s seven, plus your hunter has Cool +1 for a total of eight. The move’s instructions say that on a 7-9, you protect the target okay but you may suffer some or all of the harm instead. After you’ve recognized the move’s trigger, it will tell you want to do next. Moves can: * Ask you to roll the dice (2d6), with the results of the roll determining what happens next * Grant you a special ability that you can use whenever you want * Give you a bonus to certain rolls * Give you extra options to use in certain situations. ---- All the hunters have a set of moves that allow them to investigate and deal with monsters. These are called the "basic moves". There are eight basic moves (a more detailed list of the moves can be found here): Act Under Pressure Used for any difficult or dangerous action that isn’t covered by another move. Help Out Used to help another hunter do something. If you succeed, you’ll give them a bonus on their task. Investigate a Mystery Used to work out what kind of monster you are dealing with, what it can do, and what it’s planning. Kick Some Ass Used for fighting. Fighting monsters, mainly. Manipulate Someone Used to try and get someone to do something for you, after you give them some kind of reason. Protect Someone Used to save someone from danger. Read a Bad Situation Used to work out what dangers are immediately threatening you. For instance, if you think you are walking into a trap, or want to do some tactical analysis. Use Magic Used to cast magic spells or use enchanted items. Playbook Moves In addition, each hunter playbook has its own set of moves. These are called "playbook moves". ---- The Ratings Your hunter has ratings that describe how good they are in certain areas that are important when hunting monsters. The ratings add to (or subtract from) your dice total when you roll for a move. Cool Is how calm and collected you are. It is added to your die roll for the act under pressure and help out basic moves. Tough Is how strong and mean you are in a fight. It is added to your die roll for the kick some ass and protect someone basic moves. Charm Is how pleasant and persuasive you are. It is added to your die roll for the manipulate someone basic move. Sharp Is how observant you are. It is added to your die roll for the investigate a mystery and read a bad situation basic moves. Weird Is how attuned to the supernatural you are. It is added to your die roll for the use magic basic move. The Ranges The ratings range from -1 to +3: * -1 is bad * 0 is average * +1 is good * +2 is really good * +3 is phenomenal ---- The Results After rolling 2d6 and adding the appropriate rating, your final total determines the outcome. Each move has its own specific results, but generally speaking: Total Success On a 10+ you do what you meant and a bonus Mixed Success On a 7-9 you do what you meant but there's some drawback Total Miss Something really bad happens Category:Gameplay